Parking Lot Project

The Parking Lot Project transformed a University of Richmond parking lot into a yearlong, collaborative artwork, driven by students from diverse disciplines enrolled in a course through the Department of Art and Art History. The spring section was cross-listed with the Department of Geography and the Environment. Additional spaces were transformed by select students, faculty, and staff from across the University.

Individual parking spaces were excavated to be green spaces alongside functional spaces, disrupting the parking lot’s identity. Students redeveloped the spaces as sites for independent research and public art, while considering questions about sustainability, land use, and landscape on their own terms – as artists, scholars, and citizens. The public was invited to engage with the project and students through presentations and critiques.

At the end of the 2014−15 academic year, the parking lot was repurposed as part of the Campus Master Plan. Students were encouraged to focus their attention on producing a meaningful work that will last in memory and effect.

The following story shows the evolution of the parking lot.